ATMs are well known devices that allow a user to withdraw cash from a bank account without the need for a teller. ATMs are designed to be highly secure as large amounts of cash are stored therein. A standard ATM includes currency cassettes, in which banknotes are loaded. These currency cassettes are slotted into a housing to form a stack, and each currency cassette can only be removed from the housing by sliding it out in a removal path in a similar fashion to sliding open a drawer. This stack is housed inside a secure body and access can only be gained to the currency cassettes by opening a secure housing door of the secure body.
One major security weak point still exists in many ATMs. That is, all of the cash stored within the cassettes is at high risk from theft when the housing door of an ATM is opened to replenish the cash or to allow servicing or maintenance to be performed. To address this security weak point, a number of ATM security apparatus have been proposed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,802 discloses a locking device comprising a locking bar which is mounted across the front of a stack of cassettes running from top to bottom of the stack, to simultaneously block the removal path of each cassette thereby preventing the cassettes from being slid out from their respective housings. Using this apparatus, the interior of an ATM can be divided into two distinct security zones: (i) a low security zone in which a person such as a repair man can service the ATM without compromising the security of the cash contained therein and (ii) a high security zone in which a person of high security clearance can gain access to the cash. However, when the locking bar is removed to allow access to one of the cassettes for refilling or replacing, all of the cassettes and the cash they contain become accessible and vulnerable to theft.
UK Patent 2,363,426/US 2002/0007771 A1 discloses an apparatus for preventing the removal of cassettes from an ATM, the apparatus including mounting means, and a plurality of locking bars that can be secured in locked positions on the mounting means. In this apparatus each locking bar corresponds to a single cassette and when in the locked position, a locking bar blocks the removal path of only its corresponding cassette, thereby preventing the cassette from being slid out of the housing. Each locking bar corresponds to a single cassette, and consequently when a single cassette is unlocked for refilling or replacement, none of the other cassettes need to be unlocked. However, this arrangement has drawbacks in that, by having an individual locking bar for each cassette, manufacture, installation and operation of the security bars and associated locking mechanisms is complex and costly. In particular, for smaller stand-alone ATMs of the type that can be found in bars and convenience stores, or ATMs with increased security levels and therefore thicker bodies, installation complexity is increased as the amount of space available in the interior of these machines is extremely limited. GB 2449748 also describes a security assembly which has a plurality of doors with each door securing a respective cash containing cassette. This arrangement has similar drawbacks to those mentioned above.
It is the objective of the present invention to avoid or minimize one or more of the above disadvantages.